Art of War
by LAXgirl
Summary: Captain Levi was thought to have been killed during the 57th Expedition Beyond the Wall. But when he reappears almost a year later the Survey Corps discovers Eren is no longer the only one with Titan powers in their midst. Political intrigue and conspiracies surround the details of Levi's abduction which he and his squad are determined to figure out.
1. Lost and Found

_Sun Tzu, : The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected._

Disclaimer: Attack on Titan does not belong to me, nor are any of the characters being used for profit in the telling of this story. Believe me. I'm poor. I didn't win the Powerball last Wednesday. So don't sue. It won't be worth the lawyers' fees.

 _Chapter One: Lost and Found_

The flare to retreat had been given almost half an hour ago. Soldiers of the 57th Expedition were already beginning to gather at their pre-designated meeting point to the north-east of the Forest of Giant Trees. As Commander Erwin rode towards them with Hange and several other scouts on horseback he noted that at least three squads hadn't reconnoitered yet. They should have encountered few titans on the way out of the forest given that the Female Titan had called all titans to her within a two mile radius where she had been ensnared in a snare of steel cable tethered lances. They had immediately begun devouring her in a feast of torn flesh and splatters of steaming blood. What a waste. He had been hoping to capture the human inside alive for questioning. Levi had been so close to extracting her before she had called the other titans to her.

Erwin glanced around the group of soldiers that had already amassed at the meeting point. He saw that the majority of the newest recruits had survived the rampage of the Female Titan in the forest – among them Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlet, Jean Kirstein, and Reiner Braun. The looks on all his men's face, however, told Erwin that there had been heavy losses.

The distance whinny of a horse made Erwin glance backwards in the direction of the forest. A group of about half a dozen soldiers were racing towards them. He didn't see any titans in pursuit which he counted as a small favor from god – if there could really be such a divine being in a world as cruel as theirs. He recognized his elite soldiers Eld Jinn, Oluo Bozado, Petra Ral, and Günther Schultz with Eren Jeager bringing in the rear.

Erwin dismounted from his horse and strode out several paces to meet them. Zoe followed after him. The group pulled up in front of Erwin. Their horses' chests were covered in a shiny layer of sweat and they were panting heavily. The squad must have exited the forest on the far side and had to ride around. He noted the haunted, stricken looks on all their faces. A feeling of dread curdled the bottom of his stomach. After all these years leading the Survey Corps he knew when he was about to be given bad news.

"Ral," Erwin called as they dismounted and handed their horses off to the several soldiers in charge of caring for the horses. "What happened?"

Petra stared back at him with grief-stricken eyes. The corners of her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She seemed unable to speak.

Erwin glanced at his other Elites, silently commanding someone –anyone!- to speak. Towards the back of the group, Eren averted his eyes towards the ground and stared at it with lips pressed together in a grim frown.

"We retreated after the blue flare went up," Eld finally spoke. "All of us immediately fell back to get our horses and come to the meeting point. While we were maneuvering through the forest Captain Levi suddenly veered north."

"He thought he had seen something. Said something about the human in the Female Titan maybe still being alive," Oluo chimed in. "Said she might be hiding amongst us in the retreat."

Petra finally found her voice. "We tried to follow him but we lost him in the forest. He moves so fast in 3DMG gear…" She paused a moment, as though to collect her thoughts and emotions. "We were trying to catch up to him when we found this." She pulled something from a hip pouch strapped around her waist. She held it out to Erwin.

Erwin gingerly reached for it. As he took it, it unfurled over the sides of his fist and swayed limply in the chilly breeze that blew across the field. It was the torn remains of a green scout cloak. Streaks of half-dried blood were smeared across the Wings of Freedom symbol.

"We… also found this," Günther said, holding out the crumpled remains of a 3DMG cylinder pack. One side of it was crunched inwards as though it had been bitten in half by a set of giant teeth.

Zoe gasped under her breath. "Is that-?"

Petra nodded. Her eyes were bright with grief. "We checked the identification number. It's Captain Levi's."

Erwin stared at the blood-stained cloak and 3DMG cylinder, the hollow feeling in his stomach widening. He wasn't sure what to feel at that exact moment. In a way, this news somehow felt overdue. Survival rates for Survey Corps members barely averaged longer than two years. Levi had been a Survey Corps member for many times longer than that. Yet… Levi had always seemed like such a tenacious force of power nothing in the world could ever take him down. Sometimes Erwin had wondered if Levi hadn't survived so many titan encounters simply because he had thought it was too messy a way to die.

"Commander," Petra softly intoned, her eyes imploring Erwin as if he could somehow change what had happened. "What do we do?"

Erwin paused. The loss of Levi was still too big and too devastating for him to fully process yet. He would have to do that once he'd gotten the rest of his surviving soldiers back to safety and he could grieve by himself in the privacy of his own quarters. Until then, he knew what Levi would have done if their fates had been reversed.

"Mark Captain Levi as missing in action, presumed dead," he solemnly commanded. "Then water and feed your horses and help the others load the dead bodies onto the wagons. We move out in twenty minutes."

Erwin turned sharply away from the group of stunned, staring faces. He knew what some of his squad would say once word got out about what happened: that he was soulless with no trace of human emotion left in his heart. That wasn't true. He felt the loss of every one of his soldiers and carried the weight of their deaths on his shoulders everyday. Levi's would be no different but Erwin knew the captain's death would leave a much bigger void in his wake – possibly more than everyone else combined. Levi had been his best soldier. One of his closest confidants. His friend.

In his opinion, the Survey Corps had just suffered its worst loss in history.

* * *

"Commander," Zoe Hange said as she strode up to him. "The fortress has been inspected by the engineers and deemed secure. The walls are intact and the main gate is solid. They said it'll hold up against a titan attack. Scouts report no sign of titans anywhere in the immediate area."

Erwin nodded. "Good." He surveyed the courtyard of the fortress he and the other members of the Survey Corps' 58th Expedition Beyond the Wall occupied. Soldiers bustled about the complex, moving supplies and inspecting buildings for damage.

It had been eight months since their last disastrous mission beyond Wall Rose. It had taken that long for Erwin to convince the military that despite the heavy losses sustained during the 57th Expedition, the Survey Corps needed to persevere and create a supply line between Karanese and Shigashina District to unlock whatever secrets lay buried under the demolished remains of Eren Jeager's house. After months of arguing and pleading his case to High Command, Erwin had finally received authorization to proceed with the operation. In a stoke of further luck, High Command had also allowed Eren to remain with the Survey Corp even though Levi was no longer there to act as Eren's self-appointed failsafe. Since then, a near endless stream of small exploratory ventures had been made to map out a path to the nearest way station – a giant five-hundred-year-old military fortress nestled high in the hills east of Shigashina. Given its easily defendable location and formidable stone construction it had been deemed an ideal location for the Survey Corps to use as a secure base of operations outside of Wall Rose. It was almost perfectly situated as a quarter-way way station to Shigashina. If Erwin were to go to the top of the ramparts and looked out over the valley below he would just about be able to see the shadowy mass of the Forest of Giant Trees looming on the horizon.

The 58th Expedition had encountered surprisingly few titans on the way there. Only several regular titans had been spotted during the course of their journey and had been easily avoided without any casualties. Erwin tried not to become too excited about their streak of good luck. Things had a tendency to turn bad very quickly beyond the wall once a person let his guard down. The losses of their last expedition were proof enough of that…

Erwin shook himself out of his thoughts and focused his attention back on Zoe. "Tell the men to spread out through the fortress and assess its interior rooms. This place hasn't had any living residents for almost six years since Wall Maria fell."

"Yes, sir," Zoe nodded.

"I want you to personally go and inspect the fortress's cellars. See if it is dry enough to store ammunition and gas cylinders. Having a supply line isn't going to do any good if the supplies we leave get damaged by the elements before we get to use them."

"Yes, sir."

Erwin was in the middle of discussing plans with Mike Zacharius and Petra Ral about fifteen minutes later when a muffled scream suddenly sounded somewhere deep inside the fortress. Erwin immediately recognized the voice as Zoe Hange's.

There was a momentary pause among those spread out across the courtyard as they stared at the fortress's inner stronghold. With Erwin in the lead, he, Petra, Mike, and several other soldiers took off in the direction Zoe's scream had come, their scout cloaks snapping behind them in the wind.

Speeding through the fortress's main hall, Erwin led the group through a doorway he knew would lead them to the cellars. A stone staircase spiraled downwards into darkness.

"Commander!" Mike yelled from the back of the group, grabbing a torch from a scone in the wall. He withdrew a match from his side pouch, struck it against the wall, and held the match against the torch head. The fire flared into a full flame almost immediately. He thrust the burning torch out to Erwin. "Here."

Erwin took the torch and raced down the steps as quickly as he dared go, the others following close behind. In the glow of torchlight, Erwin recognized the faces of the other people that had followed him, Petra and Mike into the fortress. It was Eren Jeager, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlet. Wherever there was one of them, the other two were sure to be found somewhere nearby. In any other situation Erwin would have ordered them back. They were still novices and in no position to be putting themselves in danger to investigate a completely unknown danger. But he didn't have time to deal with them right now. He had to find out what had caused Zoe to scream an alarm like that. Had titans somehow gotten into the fortress?

Several of the soldiers drew their blades as they raced down the stairs. The torch sent distorted, demonic-looking shadows dancing across the walls as they descended.

"Hange!" Erwin called at the bottom of the stairs. A massive room of rough hewn stones spread out around them. "Hange! Where are you?"

"In here! Hurry!" a voice called back to him. Through a doorway to the right, the cellar branched into what looked like a former cold lauder. As Erwin and the other soldiers came around the bend he spotted light from Zoe's torch on the far side of the smaller room.

"What is it? What happened?" Erwin called, jogging up to the obviously spooked squad leader.

Zoe stared at the far corner of the room, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "There," she pointed. Her hand was noticeably shaking.

Erwin followed her gaze and sucked in a startled gasp of air.

There laying on the stone floor was a body. It lay on its side with its back towards them. Although outside of their immediate circle of torchlight Erwin could see it was male. The man was dressed in dirty, threadbare clothes. A mess of shaggy black hair spilled across the ground around his head, obscuring his face.

"Is that a corpse?" Mike whispered. His voice was loud in the cold stillness of the cellar.

"I don't think so," Armin shook his head. "It doesn't look decomposed or even mummified."

"What's a person that isn't part of our squad doing so deep inside titan territory?" Eren asked. "Even if he's dead, he obviously hasn't been dead for long."

"He's still fresh," Mikasa hollowly agreed.

"Could it be a survivor from one of the nearby villages?" Petra wondered out loud. "Maybe he's been living here since Wall Maria fell."

"Even if he he's been holed up in this fortress all this time, how could a civilian survive for six years alone in the middle of titan territory?" Mike demanded hotly. "It's impossible. Plus, we didn't see any sign of anyone living here when we arrived."

"All of you, be quiet," Erwin sharply ordered.

Silence immediately met his command.

Holding his torch up high to let the light fill the room, Erwin slowly edged towards the figure on the ground. He was going to get to the bottom of this right now. There was still no movement from the man on the ground despite all the talking around him. Maybe he really was dead.

Carefully dropping to one knee, Erwin leaned over the man and held his torch up higher. Firelight illuminated the figure in a wash of flickering orange light. Only now did Erwin see a set of metal shackles chaining the man's wrists and ankles together. A storm of even more questions filled Erwin's head. Who was this man? What was he doing there, chained in the basement of an abandoned fortress in the middle of titan territory? None of this made sense.

Frustrated at the lack of answers, Erwin grabbed the man by his shoulder and roughly rolled him onto his back so he could see his face.

Erwin almost dropped his torch at what he beheld. He heard several gasps ring out behind him.

There, laying on the ground, was none other than Captain Levi.

* * *

The silence of the cellar was absolute as everyone there stared in shocked disbelief. Eren could barely process what he was seeing. The man laying there was obviously Captain Levy. One didn't forget the face of the man that had beat him half to death in front of a courtroom of people. But the man laying there with his hands and ankles chained was not how Eren remembered the taciturn captain.

Once so immaculately dressed and poised, Levi looked horrible. He was dressed in loose brown pants and a frayed, possibly once-white shirt. Matted ropes of overgrown black hair framed a skull-thin face, as if the captain's skin had shrunk two sizes too small for his slender frame. Under the smears of grim covering Levi's face his skin appeared paper-thin and almost translucent in the torchlight. Slanted almond eyes were sunk in the captain's face and ringed by dark circles of purple as if Levi hadn't slept in ages. It was difficult for Eren to merge the two images of the captain together in his mind.

"Levi?" Petra finally broke the stunned silence. Within the blink of an eye Zoe, Petra, and Mike were crowding around Erwin beside Levi. Eren and the others hung back and watched from several paces away.

"How is this possible?" Zoe breathed. "Levi went missing over eight months ago." Disbelief and elation warred with each other for dominance on her face.

"Is he even alive?" Mike said, leaning over Erwin's shoulder to better see his resurrected comrade.

Petra knelt on the ground beside Levi's head and tenderly pressed the back of her hand against his forehead. "He's freezing," she hissed. Moving to the side of his neck she felt for a pulse. "But he's still alive!" she exclaimed in jubilation.

Erwin hastily passed his torch to Mike. With surprising gentleness, the commander lifted Levi's arms and inspected the thick shackles encircling his wrists. Even standing back at a distance Eren could see the raw, bleeding skin underneath the bands of heavy iron. He involuntarily winced.

"Give me your blade," Erwin ordered, motioning to Mike. The squad leader hastily unsheathed a blade and handed it to the commander.

Erwin took the blade in one hand and stretched Levi's shackled hands out on the ground to the side with the other. With a swift chop he broke the chain apart into two separate pieces. The commander repeated the process on Levi's leg chains.

"Who could have done this?" Zoe asked as Erwin handed Mike his blade back.

"I don't know," Erwin replied. His voice was tight with some emotion Eren couldn't exactly name. It sounded like elation. But shock as well. And a touch of anger as well. Eren had heard that Commander Erwin and Levi had been friends, but it wasn't until now that he had really seen any indication that Erwin saw Levi as anything more than just a loyal subordinate. As Eren watched, Erwin quickly shrugged off his cloak and draped it over Levi's frame. Levi had always been a smaller man, but wrapped in the Commander's cloak now he looked absolutely frail. What horrible thing had happened to Humanity's Greatest Hope that he had been reduced to such a state?

"Levi?" Erwin called, leaning over the smaller man. "Levi, can you hear me?"

For the first time since finding him, they saw a flicker of life from the unconscious man. Groaning weakly in the back of his throat, Levi's eyelids drifted apart just enough for glazed, bloodshot eyes to swivel up towards the crowd of faces leaning over him. He lethargically blinked against the torchlight.

"Levi?" Erwin called again, gently shaking the captain's shoulder. The urgency in his voice was palpable.

"Erwin?" a raspy voice croaked. Eren could barely hear Levi's voice it was so weak. The captain seemed more asleep than awake. His eyelids slowly began to drift close again.

Erwin leaned down closer. "Levi, stay with me. You have to stay awake. That's an order!"

As though actually obeying, Levi's eyes opened again. But just barely. They seemed to weight a thousand pounds for the amount of effort it was visibly taking the captain to do so. Despite being conscious, he barely seemed to be aware of where he was.

"Levi, what happened to you?" Zoe said, asking the question that was foremost on everyone's mind. "We all thought you were dead."

Levi stared at them for a moment of silence. "Captured…" he finally rasped. It seemed to take every ounce of strength the captain had to find words. "During retreat from Female Titan… Thought I saw body on the ground… Thought maybe someone from my squad… When I landed something hit me on back of head… Knocked out…"

Levi's eyes swiveled in their sockets, as if taking in his surroundings for the first time. "Where am I?"

"At the old East Hill Fortress," Petra replied, taking the opportunity to tenderly brush back several strands of dirty hair from the captain's face. "You've been missing for eight months."

"Eight months?" Levi whispered. "Feels like so much longer than that…"

"Do you know who took you?" Erwin demanded.

Levi weakly rolled his head back and forth against the ground. "No. The bastards always had masks on when they came for me… Were experimenting on me."

"Experimenting?" Zoe breathed. She leaned closer, her eyes bright with morbid fascination. "What did they do to you?"

Levi fiercely shook his head, his features contorting in an angry grimace. "Don't know… All I remember is being locked in a cell… Whenever they came for me I tried to fight. Beat me until they could strap me onto a gurney of some kind and wheel me into a room with bright lights… Did it more time than I can count…"

"Where were they holding you?" Erwin urgently questioned.

"Don't know. The last time they came they drugged and blindfolded me… Then I woke up here..."

"So Captain Levi was left here for us to find?" Armin wondered out loud. "Why would someone kidnap the captain then leave him all the way out here in titan territory?"

An unsettled silence fell over the room. Eren felt a cold thrill run down the length of his spine. Armin's question was good.

Erwin glanced over his shoulder towards the young strategist. His expression mirrored Eren's own reaction.

"Arlet is right," he finally said. "Whoever kidnapped Levi left him here almost like a present. Whoever had him these last eight months knew we were coming here and wanted us to find him. For what reason, we don't know. But we can't take the chance of having to fight an unknown enemy with unknown goals in the middle of titan territory. Whoever brought Levi here could still be nearby. It's not safe to stay. We have to retreat back to Wall Rose until we can reassess the situation and devise a strategy for how to proceed."

"Levi needs medical attention," Petra worriedly added. "We don't have the supplies or facilities to properly assess what his kidnappers did to him here."

Erwin nodded, his expression grave. He glanced around the circle of squad leaders. "Send the order out. We leave immediately."

Stooping on one knee beside Levi, the commander reached out for the smaller man.

Levi realized what Erwin intended to do several seconds before Eren or anyone else there did.

"Don't you dare," he growled, glaring daggers at Erwin. He weakly tried to scoot away from Erwin but was in no condition to evade the commander's grasp. All he could do was feebly push against the ground in protest as Erwin slipped his arms under Levi's shoulders and knees and lifted him into his arms.

"Try and stop me," Erwin shot back, his tone indifferent to Levi's objections.

Levi stiffened in Erwin's arms as Erwin straightened. An involuntary cry of pain rang through the room. Erwin looked startled by Levi's violent reaction to his touch. Instantly, his expression of hard resolve melted into one of worried urgency.

"Hold on, Captain. We're taking you home."

Eren numbly watched as Erwin swept past them towards the door. Levi hung limp in Erwin's arms. The captain made no other form of protest as he was carried out. Somehow that, more than anything else, made Levi's return from the dead even more disturbing. Before today Eren would have never imagined he would see the proud captain of the Survey Corp reduced to such a state.

In a stunned daze, Eren and the other soldiers hurried after Erwin up the stairs. He could only imagine what sight the two officers made as Erwin strode into the open courtyard holding Levi's frail body wrapped in a cloak. It took only a few seconds for the first soldier to spot them. Within less than a minute everyone in the courtyard was staring at the Commander, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and the group of squad leaders.

"That's Captain Levi," a startled whisper sounded from somewhere off to the side.

Almost instantly the courtyard was abuzz with whispers and startled exclamations of the captain's name repeating again and again in an unceasing mantra of disbelief.

"Everyone, to your horses!" Erwin shouted as he strode purposefully towards the line of supply wagons lining one side of the courtyard. "We're returning to Karanese immediately!"

There was a collective pause from the watching squad of soldiers before they erupted into action. Soldiers went scrambling to obey. Saddles were hastily thrown on horses' backs and cinched tight. The courtyard became a chaotic swarm of activity.

"We use the same long-range formation back to Wall Rose as we did getting here!" Mike Zacharius yelled to the soldiers. "Secure all supplies in the closest available building! We have to reach Karanese before sundown!"

Eren's mind was forced to focus on the task of preparing for a long day's ride back through titan territory to Wall Rose. But in the back of his mind the mystery of how Captain Levi had returned to them remained a lingering source of unease.

* * *

The world was a blur to Levi as Erwin carried him through a dark stone building and then into blinding sunlight. He blinked back tears at the sudden assault on his eyes. It had been so long since he'd seen natural light.

Weakly lifting his head – it took all his strength just to do that much - Levi caught sight of people in green military cloaks scattered around a massive courtyard. It hurt too much to try and figure out who they were. Everything hurt. Every step Erwin took jostled his aching, battered body. He didn't know how he had arrived there so deep in titan territory or what his kidnappers had done to him. The last eight months had felt like one long, never-ending nightmare. All he really remembered was being held in a dark and filthy cell and taken back and forth between there and a room with blinding white lights that smells of antiseptics and blood. The rest of his captivity had been nothing but a blur of pain. The one thing Levi knew for sure was that once he was better he was going to hunt down whoever had kidnapped him and kill them. Very slowly…

Levi heard his name whispered in startled tones from those watching from the edges of the courtyard. A small part of him burned with embarrassment at the indignity of being carried like an injured damsel in distress, but Levi couldn't muster the energy or really even the anger to demand that Erwin release him. He knew he wouldn't have been able to stand - let alone walk - on his own if Erwin did. In all honesty, he was relieved to be back in the company of his squad. For the first time since he'd woken up as a prisoner he felt some semblance of safety.

Zoe ran ahead of Erwin as they nearest the line of supply wagons and jumped into the back of one. Tearing through the supplies, she arranging a thick layer of extra saddle pads and horse blankets on the floor. She knelt on the edge of the cart and held her arms out to Levi. "Here," she offered, taking Levi by the shoulders. Working together, Erwin and Zoe lifted the captain up into the wagon.

It took everything Levi had not to scream as he was eased onto the pad of blankets. His entire body felt like one giant, bleeding wound. His bones felt like they were made of splintered glass that ground together with every movement. Whatever the bastards that kidnapped him had done to him had made his body a prison of unending agony. Even the gentlest touch burned like acid against the nerve endings under his skin. He grit his teeth together to stop from crying out as Zoe gently arranged his strengthless arms across his chest and draped Erwin's cloak overtop him. The heavy wool was rough against his skin and stained in places with ground-in dirt, but it was warm and familiar.

"Hang in there, Levi. We're going to get you home."

Levi grimaced. It was too much effort to try and actually respond. The edges of his vision were fuzzy. A heavy pressure was building behind his eyes, urging him to let his eyelids drift shut. Unconsciousness tugged on his senses like an insistent siren's call. He was exhausted from just being carried out of that filthy cellar. It was really quite pathetic. If he wasn't so tired he would have been disgusted with himself. He was going to _kill_ whoever decided to make the mistake of kidnapping him.

Horses neighed and wagons creaked as they were moved into position in front of the fortress gate. A solider leapt onto the front seat of the wagon with Levi and Zoe. With a shudder, the wagon was backed away from the wall and a team of horses was hitched to it.

"Hange, stay and keep watch over him," Erwin yelled over the din of activity.

"Yes, sir!"

As Zoe continued to bustle over him, Levi realized that the overenthusiastic titan specialist probably wouldn't have left him even if Erwin hadn't commanded her to stay. He and Zoe had never been particularly close on a personal level but they had worked together for years and had a good working relationship. He trusted her judgment and battle skills. Having her fuss over him so intently now was a bit disconcerting. He'd never really felt comfortable with people getting close to him or touching him. Erwin was probably the only person he felt truly understood him or who he felt comfortable enough let get near him without wanting to snap off some harsh comment towards. But then again, it wasn't often that a previously assumed-dead comrade appeared alive in the middle of titan country without any explanation. He supposed it only natural his squadmates would be a little overprotective of him after such a discovery.

"Move out!" Erwin's voice rang out across the courtyard. There was a rumble as the fortress gate rose to make way for the squad of horses and soldiers. The wagon lurched forward into motion. Levi grit his teeth against the jolt.

Zoe sat down close beside him, her eyes bright with unconcealed worry. "Levi, do you need anything?"

Levi blinked lethargically at the question. He needed a lot of things right now. A bath and clean set of clothes were the foremost things on his mind. His skin crawled with the filth that covered him. But that would have to wait until they were safely back at headquarters to take care of.

"Water," he rasped.

Zoe produced a canteen from the pile of supplies lined against the other side of the wagon. Unscrewing the top, she held it out to Levi. The captain tried to extricate one arm to take the proffered canteen but was frustrated to find he was too weak to even shrug away Erwin's cloak from overtop himself.

"Here," Zoe said, realizing the problem. She gently snaked one hand underneath Levi's head and lifted him up. She pressed the edge of the canteen neck to his cracked lips and tipped the container forward until a rush of water sloshed into Levi's mouth. He didn't remember the last time he had had anything to eat or drink. It had been difficult to judge time in the cell his capturers had held him. When his thirst was finally sated, Levi collapsed backwards into his nest of saddle pads and blankets, utterly exhausted.

"You've missed a lot while you were away," Zoe said as she replaced the canteen lid and set it aside. "I think I might have made a breakthrough in titan physiology that explains how variant titans are formed."

Levi lay there in a semi-conscious daze as Zoe effortlessly fell into one of her classic titan rants. She didn't even look to Levi for feedback as the words tumbled from her in a breathless stream of thought. Levi should have been annoyed with her given the amount of pain he was in, but Zoe's babbling was strangely comforting. It reminded him of when he and his other squadmates would have to endure one of her windlessly long theories on titans back at headquarters. It gave Levi back a sense of normalcy.

Levi let his mind drift as Zoe's voice faded to a gentle drone. When his eyelids became too heavy to keep open anymore he didn't try to fight the darkness that rushed to pull him into its inky embrace. His body didn't hurt when he was unconscious.

He drifted in and out of consciousness several times. A few times he thought he heard Zoe still talking beside him but never stayed awake long enough to be sure. The sun was warm on Erwin's cloak and he had been so cold for so long it was too luxurious a feeling to want to ruin. He was back with his squad. And even though they were traveling through titan-infested territory Levi felt safe.

When Levi fully woke again –sometime much later if the height of the sun was any indication - it was to a wagon wheel sharply hitting a bump in the road. An involuntary scream tore from his throat. Spasms of pain shot through his body's torn muscles. It hurt so much Levi couldn't even draw air into his lungs to scream a second time.

"Hey! Be careful! We have an injured officer back here!" Zoe's voice shouted over the rush of wind and creaking of the wagon. As the pain receded to semi-tolerable levels, Levi looked up see Zoe glaring daggers at the back of the wagon driver's head. That was surprising. Levi couldn't remember ever seeing the usually easy-going squad leader look so mad.

As if sensing Levi scrutinizing her, Zoe glanced down and met his gaze. Her eyes instantly softened. "You alright, Levi?" she asked, leaning down over him.

Levi grit his teeth. His entire body hurt. The constant bumps and jarring of the wagon were too much for him to bear anymore.

"What happened? Is Levi alright?" Erwin's voice suddenly boomed beside them.

Levi weakly rolled his head to see Erwin's face bobbing up and down over the side of the wagon. He must have rode up beside the cart to investigate when he'd heard Levi cry out.

"Erwin. Stop the cart," Levi rasped. It was difficult to make his voice come out any louder than a whisper. "Stop. _Please._ " Levi hated himself. He could hear the begging in his own voice but he was nearing the end of his personal limitations. The pain was becoming too much to bear. He had been in pain so long – almost for a long as he had been a prisoner – and even after being rescued he was still forced to suffer.

Erwin's expression betrayed how Levi's words effected him. He looked like he had just been dealt a physical blow to the gut. For a moment Levi thought the commander might relent – that he would order the squad to halt and rest their horses for a few minutes. At least long enough for Levi to collect himself and let the pain of his torn muscles recede back into a manageable agony.

"No," Erwin sharply shook his head. "We press forward. We still have at least five miles of open terrain before we come within sight of Wall Rose. We've already had to redirect our path three times because of titans. We have to reach the wall before it gets dark. Please endure a little longer. We're almost there."

Levi grit his teeth together as another bump made the wagon rock up and slam back down on all four wheels. The shudder vibrated through Levi's frame. He swallowed back another scream.

A soft popping sound came from somewhere nearby. Levi gazed upwards from his pallet of blankets. A long trail of red smoke was arching upwards almost directly overhead. A thrill of horror dampened the pain of Levi's body.

"Titan!" a cry went out somewhere much too close.

A second red flare went up, this time from the other side of the wagon.

Levi forced himself up onto his elbows. Two titans. And coming from opposite directions by the looks of it. This wasn't good. How did two titans gets so deep into their long-range scouting formation?

Heavy, reverberating footsteps thudded against the ground behind them.

Panicked cries flew down the line of soldiers on horseback.

One, then two more red flares streaked up into the sky.

"Two more titans spotted: a 20- and 16-foot are approaching fast from nine-o-clock!" another voice screamed.

"We outrun them!" Erwin cried. He lifted a flare gun and sent a green trail of smoke streaking into the air. The wagon lurched as the formation diverted in the direction of the commander's flare. Levi strained his neck to see between the side panels of the wagon. A small town lay in the distance. It looked like an abandoned mill town. The half-collapsed remains of the buildings rose up from the ground like the blackened spines of some buried, long-dead monster. The sky on that edge of the horizon was painted a deep shade of yellow. The sun was beginning its downwards arc to the west. Thin clouds streaked that side of the sky. They looked like bloody gashes against the sky in the light of the setting sun. Somehow the fading sun along with the red-tinged clouds and hulking black outlines of the abandoned buildings had a distinctly sinister quality to them. The hairs on the back of Levi's neck stood on end. The feeling was tangible: they shouldn't go there.

"Levi, lay down," Zoe urged. "There's nothing you can do right now. The commander knows what he's doing. We'll protect you."

Everything in Levi screamed at him to grab the nearest set of 3DMG gear and go to his squad's defense. It was his fault they were out here. If Zoe hadn't found him in that cellar all of them would have been back in the relative safety of the fortress – not out here in the middle of titan country with an injured officer too weak to even push himself onto his knees.

The center column barreled down the main road that bisected the abandoned town in half. Several soldiers took to the air with their 3D gear as the buildings rose up on either side of them. At least here in the town they would be able to use their gear and fight. Heavy titan footsteps shook the ground all around them.

"Watch out!" a cry suddenly shouted.

Before Levi or Zoe could brace themselves the glaze-eyed head of a titan moving on all fours appeared above the side of the wagon and slammed into it. Its mouth was a yawning black abyss lined with teeth. The world upended. Levi experienced a moment of weightlessness and then he hit the ground. The blow was so violent and fast he didn't even have time to scream.

He rolled like a thrown rag doll. He felt the bones in his right arm snap underneath him. Pain even more intense than being jostled in the back of the wagon exploded through every nerve ending in his body. Levi slid to a stop facedown on the ground. The taste of blood filled his mouth.

The upended cart smashed against the ground only half a dozen away. Splintered chucks of wood rained down on Levi. Darkness danced along the edges of his vision but somehow he didn't pass out. Painfully lifting his head, he looked around. He appeared to be on the edge of a large town center. Beside the smashed remains of the wagon the horses and driver lay dead in a tangled pile of bloody limbs. Another figure lay a good twenty feet away from Levi. He recognized it as Zoe. His initial reaction was to assume the worse. But then there movement from the downed squad leader. As Levi watched Zoe staggered to her feet. She seemed dazed but not seriously hurt.

Chaos was breaking out all around them. The titan that had upended their cart was currently going after two soldiers swinging above the buildings on the far side of the square in 3DMG gear.

A set of horse legs slid to a halt in front of him. Dirt swirled up from the ground and choked the air. "Levi!" A pair of booted feet hit the ground and suddenly Erwin was beside him, pulling him off the ground into a semi-sitting position. The broken bones in Levi's arm ground together. He estimated it was broken in at least two places. Darkness threatened to close in around Levi like a shrinking tunnel but the captain stubbornly blinked it away. He would not faint. Not here. Not now. Not when danger was all around them and men were dying.

Several more soldiers appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He thought he recognized Mike, Petra, and Oluo. They formed a protective circle around the commander and Levi. Weapons were drawn. The sharpened blades of steel cast bright flashes of fading sunlight off their sharpened edges.

Levi glanced around the square. This wasn't good. The square was too narrow and the buildings too low for the soldiers to have a proper advantage over the titans attacking them. Over the rooftops of the buildings Levi saw the heads of two titans slowly plodding towards them. Less than two streets separated them and the approaching titans. By the heavy footsteps thudding the ground Levi figured the fourth titan was lurking somewhere a street or two behind them.

"Commander!" a familiar voice cried out over the sound the screaming, dying men and titan bellows. "Orders?"

"Jeager, do it!" Erwin yelled.

There was a violent, hissing explosion of energy somewhere out of Levi's line of vision and suddenly another titan appeared against the orange sunset sky between the dark outline of buildings. The earth shuddered as Eren in titan form lunged at the titan on the other side of the square. It was the one that had knocked Levi and Zoe's wagon over. The titan dumbly turned towards Eren. Eren crashed into the mindless brute at full force.

Grabbing the titan around the neck, Eren swung it aside – away from the two soldiers it had been chasing along the top of a long, two-story warehouse. Howling in mindless rage Eren attacked the titan. The titan howled back in response. The two met in a meaty crash, two sets of titan feet whirling around each other and dancing across the ground. As Levi and the group of other soldiers watched, one of Eren's feet bumped into the upended remains of the supply wagon Levi had been riding in. It scuttled across the ground, missing their huddled group by only a few feet. The vibrations of the two titans grappling sent tremors through the ground.

Something inside Levi's chest clenched. That brat Jeager… even after all this time he still had no control over his titan form. He was like a child who'd just been handed a loaded gun. He had no concept of the power he possessed or how to properly wield it. If Jeager didn't learrn to control himself while harnessing his titan powers he could kill more people than the titans he fought.

Levi's breathing quickened. A tremor began to build deep inside him, blossoming outward like a budding flower. The corners of his vision fuzzed with red-tinged darkness.

"Levi?" Erwin called. He shook him by the shoulder. "Levi, what's wrong?"

The commander's voice sounded like it was coming from the other end of an extremely long tunnel.

"Levi?!"

"Captain! What's happening?" Zoe's voice joined the chorus of concerned voices around him.

Levi couldn't answer. All he could see was Eren and the other titan's massive feet dancing around the courtyard barely a dozen paces away. One wrong move and Eren would squish everyone there. A rush of intense heat washed through Levi and red light engulfed his senses in a surge of something that could only have been described as raw power. He let it engulf him and drag him into its depths.

* * *

Mikasa had heard the Commander's order to Eren over the rush of wind as she maneuvered between the dilapidated buildings of the abandoned town near the town's main square. So it had been no surprise when an explosion of lightening cracked the air and popped her eardrums as Eren's titan form appeared over the tops of the buildings and released a blood-curdling howl of indignant fury.

What did come as a surprise was only a minute or two later that same explosion of energy crackling the air again, flaring a brilliant green-white in the fading sunlight. She was not the only Survey Corps member to look back in the direction of the unexpected flash of light.

She almost stumbled and had to scramble to find her footing as she landed heavily on the tile rooftop of a tall building – the apparent remains of the town's market house. She stared unbelievingly at the sight she beheld.

Eren was locked in violent combat with the titan that had upturned the supply wagon transporting Captain Levi. The second titan that had appeared out of a small copse of trees as they'd approached the town was closing in from the west towards Eren and the first titan. The heads of two other titans were visible above the rooftops just south of the town square.

As Mikasa stared in stunned silence, yet a fifth titan appeared out of the cloud of burnt ozone that lingered over the site of the explosion and lunged at the approaching titan to the west. She estimated it to be maybe 40 feet tall. It was hard to tell by the way it moved so low to the ground.

The newest titan moved unbelievably fast in a stalking, hunched gait. It was lithe in frame. Like a cat, it sprang to the rooftop of the nearest building and scuttled across it on all fours. A disturbingly wide Cheshire grin split its face almost to its ears which were long and tapered to elfish points that curved towards the base of its skull. Slavering, razor-sharp canines protruded between the titan's lips. A mop of shaggy black hair hung down in front of its face.

It sprang at the approaching titan, its jaws viciously snapping the air. It crashed into the other titan. Before Mikasa could track it with her eyes, it bit into the other titan's neck and ripped the titan's away from its shoulders with a sharp twist of its neck. The dead titan's head hit the ground and rolled away between the buildings. It was already beginning to dissolve in a cloud of steam before the rest of its body hit the ground.

Scuttling like a spider across the rooftops in a blur of motion, the variant titan gave a growling roar that sent a chill racing down Mikasa's spine. In an instant replay of its first attack, the variant titan dispatched the 20- and 16-foot titan with the same brutal swiftness as the other. Mikasa's blood ran cold.

By now, Eren had his opponent in a head lock. With a sharp swivel on the ball of his foot he toppled the other titan to the ground and began stomping on the titan's neck between its chin and collarbone until its neck was nothing but a pile of smashed bone and sinew. Instantly, the corpse began dissolving into a puddle of steaming gore.

With a victorious howl, Eren's titan form turned to look for its next opponent. He seemed surprised when it found no others immediately there to attack him. Instead, the variant titan that had so easily dispatched the other three titans was carefully approaching – slinking across the rooftops on all fours like a giant cat. How it moved so quickly or with such unworldly grace mystified Mikasa. Never had she seen a titan move like that – not even human-variant-titans like Eren or the Female Titan.

Eren turned to face the approaching variant. He howled threateningly at it.

The variant responded with a guttural growl that was so low it shook the air around Mikasa. Saliva dripped from the tips of its fangs. Where it hit the rooftop the tiles sizzled and began to dissolve in a pool of acid.

"What the hell is that?" a breathless voice whispered close beside Mikasa.

Mikasa had been so engrossed in watching the spectacle she hadn't even heard Armin or Connie land on the rooftop beside her. Both of them stared in open-jaw horror at the variant titan.

Mikasa had no answer to Connie's questions and turned back to watch the two titans face each other.

Eren roared and lunged at the variant. The variant gracefully sprang to the ground just as Eren's fist smashed into the rooftop where it had been crouched not more than a second before.

It landed on its feet. Dropping into a crouch, one leg shot out and swiped Eren's legs out from under him. Eren's titan form hit the ground. He scramble to get his footing again, fists swinging and roaring madly. The variant put two strides of distance between them, its body hunched forward in a fighting posture. Eyes of burning green hellfire stared back at Eren as if taunting him to try and touch it. Its speed was frightening, Mikasa thought. Eren hadn't come anywhere close to landing a blow.

With a roar, Eren lunged at the variant. For a moment Mikasa thought he might actually grab it. But at the very last second the variant feigned left and dodged Eren's grasping, outstretched hand. In a flash of movement too fast for any watching human to see, the variant's jaws snapped down around the nape of Eren's neck as he fell past.

Horror gripped Mikasa as the variant wrenched its head back with a massive chunk of steaming flesh clenched between its teeth. Framed against the chunk of red muscles and sinew Mikasa caught a glimpse of Eren still half-buried inside it.

The variant snapped its head and send the chunk of flesh with Eren inside it crashing into the nearest building. The section of steaming flesh hit the wall with a meaty slap that seemed to echo through the entire town. Slowly, it slid down against the wall to the base of the building where it lay like a butchered piece of meat.

"EREN!" Mikasa screamed. Instantly, she was in the air, speeding towards him.

* * *

Zoe stared as the variant titan spat out the chunk of flesh containing Eren's body. It was so weird. It was as if the variant had known Eren was a human in titan form and what his greatest weak point was.

Several paces away, Erwin and the other squad leaders looked on in equally horrified silence. Other members of their squad stood around gaping from all corners of the town square and rooftops as Eren's titan body collapsed to its knees at the variant titan's feet. Torn bits of muscles hung from the variant titan's fangs, sending clouds of steam curling up around its face. The effect gave the variant an even more sinister look.

As if sensing the eyes of all those around it, the variant shifted its weight to one foot and viciously spun in place. A foot slashed through the air and sent Eren's dissolving titan body hurtling into the nearest building as if it were nothing but an empty sack.

Frightened screams of panic rose from the soldiers scattered around the square. There was no way any of them would be able to fight such a monster. It was too fast. Too agile. Too deadly.

But as Zoe stared at the variant titan, horror was slowly replaced by dawning realization: the variant titan was doing nothing to attack any of the soldiers or go after Eren again. It merely stood there, its chest heaving as if it were suddenly out of breath. Which was strange, Zoe thought, since there was no scientific evidence to suggest that titans actually needed to breathe. Trails of steam began to curl from the corners of the titan's mouth and nose.

The variant's shoulders suddenly slumped and it pitched forward face-first. It hit the packed dirt of the town square with an earth-shaking crash and lay still. Steam rose off the titan's skin. Through the curtains of shifting steam and rapidly fading daylight, Zoe saw something extricate itself from the back of the titan's neck.

Shakily, she glanced across the distance separating her and Erwin.

"C-commander…?" she stammered in disbelief. She frantically groped for some sort of explanation, for some kind of meaning to what she was seeing. She looked to Erwin as though expecting him to have the answers.

Erwin's eyes were as wide as hers.

Wordlessly, the commander staggered to his feet and raced across the square towards the downed titan. Zoe shook herself out of her daze and struggled to find her own footing to follow after him.

Erwin reached the titan first and grabbed at the form still half-buried in the variant titan's neck muscles. It lay draped lifelessly over the side with one arm dangling down. It was a man, as limp and lifeless as a rag doll.

"Help me!" Erwin yelled as he grabbed the man's arm and pulled.

Zoe grabbed hold and pulled with all her strength. The heat coming off the dissolving titan was overwhelming. Her skin blistered. She could barely breathe in the soupy miasma of steam. She estimated it had to be over 300 degrees.

The titan body seemed unwilling to release its hold on the unconscious man, but finally with a slurping squelch the man was pulled free and limply tumbled into Erwin's outstretched arms.

Erwin cradled the figure to him and retreated several dozen paces from the titan to get out of the corona of scalding heat.

Zoe followed and stared in stunned silence as Erwin lowered Levi to the ground. His head limply rolled on his neck like the top of a dandelion with a broken stalk. Only the faintest hint of awareness lit the captain's slitted eyes.

"Levi!" Erwin yelled, shaking the barely conscious man.

Levi's eyes swiveled to look up at Erwin in pained disorientation. Lips trembled as though struggling to form words. But before he could, a violent cough seized him. A misty spray of blood flew from his lips and speckled the front of his shirt. Erwin and Zoe stared in helpless horror as Levi's eyes rolled towards the back of his head and he mercifully sank in darkness.

 _To Be Continued?_

Thoughts? Comments? Questions? I'm looking for feedback to see if I should continue this.


	2. Cruel Reality

_Sun Tsu: To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy._

 **Chapter Two: Cruel Reality**

Consciousness returned to Levi in brief, shallow spurts. He felt like a swimmer laying at the bottom of a deep dark lake looking up. True awareness hovered on the edge of his senses like shimmery light dancing on the surface of the water a hundred feet above him. Buoyed by the blissful feeling of painless nothingness, he let himself drift. He was content floating in the darkness.

Once, when he drifted closer to surface of the waters of his unconscious, he thought he felt a presence hovering over him just on the other side of the murky, dancing light. He felt fingers on his eyelids, gently prying them up to let a flood of blinding light assault his retinas. There was a voice that called to him but it was muffled by Levi's own sleepiness.

"Send word to the barracks. The Commander ordered that he be told the minute Captain Levi shows signs of waking."

Levi didn't have the energy or willpower to try and decipher the words' meaning. It was all garbled nonsense to him. Surrendering to the darkness again, he let himself sink away.

When he woke again, the first sensation to registered in his brain was that he was warm and comfortable. A mattress pressed against his back. The smell of clean sheets surrounded him. The weight of a thin, if not slightly scratchy, blanket covered him from his chest down. After months of living in a dark wet cell, the sensation was almost too luxurious to believe it was real.

Levi lethargically squirmed. His limbs felt like they were filled with lead weights. His mouth was coated in cottony dryness. As Levi blinked his eyes open he became aware of something clogging his right nostril. He tried swallowing away the dryness in his mouth and felt his throat close around something. He coughed against the sensation but the obstruction didn't go away. Lifting his hand to the side of his face, he felt something long and slender – a tube – trailing out of his nose. He uncomprehendingly fingered it, feeling the edges of tape holding the tube against his cheek.

As Levi dropped his hand back down to the bed he felt something else trailing out of him. He immediately froze. He had heard about this newest medical technology the royal government had approved for use by military and civilian doctors a few years ago. It was for bedridden or long-term coma patients. The catheter was to prevent patients incapable of controlling their bodily functions from messing themselves. While a part of Levi was relieved to know he hadn't been left to lay in his own filth another part of him was disgusted to know that some nurse or doctor had touched him in so intimate a place.

Huffing under his breath, Levi tried to push himself up to sit. He wasn't too surprised to find himself unable to muster the strength to even draw his arms underneath him. His entire body was stiff and sore - and not from beatings or his kidnappers' experiments. It was the kind of soreness that came from not moving for an extended period of time. He must have been unconscious for a very long time.

As Levi collapsed back down onto the bed, he only then became aware of the other presences in the room as the low murmur of voices somewhere nearby suddenly ceased.

He glanced to the side. The far side of the room was lined with two large windows. Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the glass. Three figures sat in chairs beside Levi's bed, silhouetted against the light.

"Welcome back, Captain," Erwin greeted with a thin smile. On either side of Erwin sat Mike and Hange.

Levi stared at them for a moment of confusion. What were they doing there? Then he remembered his squad finding him in the cellar of that abandoned fortress. He remembered Erwin carrying him to a wagon and them racing back to Wall Rose. Then… everything after that was a dark blur. Levi was still too sleep-addled to try and remember everything that had happened just yet.

"Erwin… Where am I?"

"Military hospital. Karanese district. You've been comatose for the last ten days. We were starting to worry you'd never wake up. I left orders that I was to be informed the moment you started to wake. The nurses contacted me several hours ago, but I guess you weren't quite ready to wake up yet. We've been waiting here for the last two hours."

Levi tried once again to push himself up to sit. It was bad enough everyone else in his squad was taller than him. But he'd be damned if he was going to let them loom over him while he passively lay there flat on his back. It took almost all of Levi's concentration to coordinate his limbs underneath him and push against the mattress.

"Here. Let me help you," Hange offered, rising from her chair. Under normal circumstances Levi would have shrugged her away, but the squad leader was too fast and helped pull Levi upright against the headboard before he could protest. Levi weakly slumped against the headboard and pillow. His overgrown hair hung around his face in messy curtains. Sitting upright somehow made the weakness in his limbs worse. His head swam slightly from the sudden change of positions. He really must have been out for ten days. It was pathetic that he had spent so much time unconscious and still felt so exhausted.

"Ugh, I feel like shit," Levi rasped.

Mike leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees. "And you look like shit. But you look better than when we first found you."

Levi grimaced and looked down at himself. With the blanket and sheets pooled around his waist he saw that he'd been dressed in a loose short sleeved long-shirt. His skin felt grimy. The doctors might have cleaned away the worst of his imprisonment when they brought him in but he still needed a proper bath. Sitting up, Levi was even more aware of his thirst. He swallowed drily and once again felt his throat close around the tube running through his nose down the back of his esophagus.

"What is this?" he demanded, fingering the place where the tube disappeared into his nostril. His voice was a harsh rasp even to his own ears. He followed the tube over the side of the mattress with his eyes up to a metal stand positioned close beside his bed. The tube was attached to the underside of an upturned glass bottle hanging from the top of the stand. A thin cloudy broth filled the bottle.

"Feeding tube," Hange replied. "You've been unconscious for ten days. You haven't been able to eat or drink anything. You were in such bad shape when we brought you back the doctors had to take extreme measures to make sure you didn't starve. They said you were severely malnourished and dehydrated."

A rush of images from his time in captivity flashed through Levi's mind. He remembered doctors working on him – poking him with needles and other medical instruments. He remembered giant glass syringes filled with glowing pink liquid angling down to fill him with their poison. He remembered the smell of blood and antiseptics. But most of all he remembered a group of men with surgical masks and white coats leaning over him where he was strapped down onto a table.

The tube trailing out of his nose reminded Levi of his time in that sterile room too much. The desire – no, the _need_ \- to get that tube out of him was sudden and viscerally overwhelming. Fighting back an inexplicable rush of panic, Levi tore at the edges of the tape holding the tube in place and gripped the tube where it disappeared into his nose.

A flash of alarm showed on Erwin's face. "Levi, don't-"

Levi was too fast. He savagely pulled at the tube. He coughed violently as he felt the end slide up his throat and out through his nose. Levi hacked uncontrollably as he held the tube away from him over the side of the bed, fighting back the urge to throw up. The end of it was coated in snot and other unmentionable liquids. Several drops of blood added color to the mix.

Gasping for air, Levi flung the tube away from him. "Disgusting," he sneered. He coughed deeply several more times – his ribs ached from the spasms - before he collapsed back against the pillow, utterly exhausted.

"You really didn't need to do that," Hange gently chided. "We could have gotten a nurse to get it out for you."

"I don't want anyone touching me. Especially any doctors or nurses," Levi spat with uncharacteristic venom. Another coughing fit gripped him. He had scratched the back of his throat badly tearing the feeding tube out. He wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. He felt even more disgusting than before.

Hange shook her head. "Well, I thought you might be a little surly when you woke up so I brought you something to make you feel better." Reaching underneath her chair, the titan specialist retrieved a metal thermos. "I bet you haven't had any of this since you disappeared."

Unscrewing the lid, she tipped the thermos and poured half a cupful of creamy brown liquid. The smell that wafted to Levi immediately identified it.

"Is that tea?" Levi breathed, almost too afraid to hope.

"Yea. Thought you might enjoy some after everything you've been through. I know how much of a tea fanatic you are."

Hange handed the cup to Levi. A rush of intense gratitude for Hange rose in Levi's chest as he took it from her with slightly shaking hands. It had been so long since he'd had his favorite drink. He could barely even remember how it tasted it had been so long. More than once after he'd been dragged back to his cell after time in the bright white room Levi had daydreamed about enjoying a steaming cup of tea.

"You're not bad, four-eyes. No matter what else I may say about you," he shakily murmured. He quite didn't trust himself to meet Hange's eyes and instead stared into the cup of warm brown liquid.

He saw Hange smile out the corner of his eye as he delicately brought the cup up to his lips and took a sip. It was warm and perfectly flavored with milk and a touch of sugar. Gods, how he had missed this small luxury…

Relaxing against the pillow and headboard, Levi glanced back over at his visitors. He noticed a small shift in Erwin, Mike, and Hange's demeanor. They were all staring at him – speculatively. Almost… warily.

"What?"

"Do you remember what happened after we found you?" Erwin asked. Something in the Commander's tone told Levi Erwin was no longer interested in pleasantries.

Levi carefully thought back. It was difficult for him to put the snatches of memory he could recall in order. Everything that happened after he woke up in that cellar had happened so quickly. It was all a pain-filled blur. How he had come to be in that fortress in the middle of titan country was still a complete mystery. He remembered waking up to a circle of familiar faces staring down at him. He remembered Erwin carrying him to the wagon and Hange sitting beside him as the Survey Corps raced back to Wall Rose. Red flares had arched into the air to signal a titan. There had been more than just one. Three, in fact. The squad had tried to lose them by diverting through an abandoned town. But then the wagon carrying Levi had been upended by a fourth titan that suddenly appeared and he'd been thrown…

Levi raised his right arm and stared at it. He remembered hitting the ground and feeling the bones in his arm snap – at least in two places. He distinctly remembered that because the pain of his arm shattering had been more intense then the rest of the pain in his body combined. But as Levi turned his arm over back and forth and flexed his fingers he could see no trace of trauma. No cast. No splint. Not even any bruises or cuts. There was no way a compound fracture like that could have healed in only ten days.

"What happened after we were attacked by those titans?" Levi said, looking up to meet Erwin's gaze. A thread of unease pulled at the bottom of his gut.

Erwin cleared his throat and crossed his arms across his chest. On either side of him, Mike and Hange exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"After you were thrown from the supply wagon, the squad was forced to use their vertical maneuvering gear to engage the titans. I ordered Eren to transform into his titan form to help. He did and went after the titan that attacked you and Hange. But three more were approaching. You were injured and in no shape to be moved. I was about to order the squad to divide and engage the targets when you suddenly went into a seizure. None of us knew what was happening. But then there was a terrific explosion of light and another titan appeared."

Erwin paused and stared meaningfully at Levi.

"That titan was you. You transformed and attacked the other titans and killed them without almost any effort. You were unbelievably fast – like nothing anyone had ever seen before. When Eren confronted you, you dodged every punch he threw at you and then torn him out of the back of his titan's neck with your teeth and spat him out against a wall."

Silence descended upon the room as the three officers stared at Levi as if he had some sort of explanation for what they had seen.

Levi stared back at them, too stunned to respond. For a moment he wondered if his squadmates weren't trying to play some sort of prank of him. But Erwin never joked around and even Hange, despite her annoying tendency to slip into goofy antics, would never make light of something so serious.

Levi struggled to find words. "How… how is that possible?"

Erwin sighed. "We were hoping you could tell us. But the entire squad saw it. Hange and I pulled you from your titan form's neck ourselves."

A horrible thought occurred to Levi. "Did I hurt anyone while I was a titan?"

Erwin shook his head. "No. Your titan immediately collapsed after you disabled Eren. He was unconscious for several hours afterwards, but he wasn't any worse than any other time after one of his transformations."

Mike sniffed. "If anything, you saved the entire squad. Eren was having trouble with that one titan and the squad was having trouble maneuvering in that town. The buildings were too small to fully utilize their vertical maneuvering gear."

Levi was silent. He stared ahead towards the far wall. He didn't know what to think or what to feel. He had turned into a titan? How was that possible?

"Levi…" Hange gently spoke up. "What did your captors do to you while you were a prisoner? You mentioned that whoever had you was doing experiments."

Levi shook his head, frustrated. "Despite my extended time as a captive I don't remember much. I remember being held in a cell. I was always cold and hungry. In a way it reminded me of living in the Underground. My body constantly hurt. It was difficult to tell time. Whenever my kidnappers came – usually a group of three men in masks – they would try and forcibly pull me from the cell. I always fought them. It got to the point that they would automatically start beating me until I was too dazed and hurt to try and fight back anymore. My only consolation was that several times I managed to break one of their noses or punch them in the eye. I'm pretty sure I broke the eye socket of one of them once.'

"After they beat the shit out of me they'd tie me onto a gurney and wheel me into another room. I don't really remember that much of what they did to me there. Only snippets of things – like being injected with needles and having something shoved into my mouth to bite down on. It was difficult to see because they always had these strange lights that shined directly into my eyes. The men in the white room were always different than the ones that got me from my cell. I assumed they were doctors because of their white coats and surgical masks, but who knows... The room they took me to looked like someplace in a hospital, but bigger. It was big with white tiles and sheets hanging in places from the ceiling. It kind of had an abandoned feel to it. I never heard people or any noise outside of the room.'

"Whatever those bastards shot me full of would make me feel like I was being burned alive from the inside out. I always passed out during the procedures. Sometimes quickly, other times… not so much. Whatever happened, I would always wake up back in my cell. My body always hurt – both from the constant beatings and from whatever those bastards gave me. They'd leave me alone for what felt like a day or two and then they'd start the whole process over again. That cycle had been my life for the last eight months until you found me in that fortress. I wish I could give you more information, but I can't. I'm sorry."

Erwin, Mike, and Hange quietly digested Levi's story. Their faces were shadowed with disturbed looks. Levi stared down into his cup of tea. He didn't feel comfortable meeting his squadmates' eyes. Describing his imprisonment made him feel weak and something to be pitied. He hated admitting how helpless he'd been. He was known as Humanity's Strongest Soldier yet he'd been captured and used.

"Those men that had you must have been the ones that gave you your titan powers," Hange murmured after a time.

"But why?" Mike questioned. "And if they gave Levi titan powers why would they leave him for us to find? Why wouldn't they have kept him if he was able to turn into such a dangerous titan?"

Hange shook her head. "Maybe they didn't know the experiments had worked and Levi had titan-shifting abilities."

"But why go to the trouble of leaving him in the middle of titan territory for us to find instead of just killing him or leaving him somewhere behind the wall for us to find? Hell, it would have been easier to just leave him at the gate of the Survey Corps' barracks than all the way out in the East Fortress."

Levi couldn't bring himself to pay much attention to Hange and Mike's speculation. A much more pressing concern weighed on his mind.

"What does the military plan to do with me?" he asking, looking over to meet Erwin's gaze. "I can only assume High Command knows about what happened and are either planning to try and kill me like they did Eren or lock me away in some dungeon never to see the light of day again."

Erwin softly cleared his throat. "Mike, Hange, will you please give me the room. I'd like to talk to Levi alone for a few minutes."

Mike and Hange stared a Erwin for a moment before quietly nodding and standing from their chairs. Hange sent Levi a small smile and wave as they headed for the door.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Erwin pulled his chair closer to Levi's bedside and leaned closer. His expression was gravely serious.

"You're right. High Command knows you're back and about your new abilities. The Survey Corp had to explain why we returned to Wall Rose so quickly after we just left – especially after what happened during the 57th Expedition. There was no way we could try to hide your titan-shifting powers. An entire squad saw you transform after mysteriously returning after almost a year of being believed dead. That's not something anyone – not even me – could ever hope to keep secret."

Levi tsked and leaned his head back against the headboard. "Fantastic."

"Once you are well enough, I've been ordered to bring you to Central Command for an inquiry."

"To decide if I should be killed like a rabid dog or not?"

"I'm not going to let that happen," Erwin said. "You are too valuable to the military to jump to such an immediate conclusion."

Levi leveled a steely frown at Erwin. "But I can turn into a titan. The only reason Eren wasn't killed was because I said I would stop him if he went wild. Who's going to be my failsafe if I start to go berserk?"

"Luckily, you don't share the same circumstances as Eren did when he came out as having titan abilities. You've proven yourself to be a loyal defender of the human race. You're captain of the Survey Corps. No one doubts your loyalty. Plus, people have had over a year to get used to the idea of a human being able to turn into a titan. I read the reports that were submitted to High Command. Every report stressed how you did not attack any soldiers, but rather defended the squad from a group of titans. Even you defeating Eren was because he attacked you first. I'm sure there will be extra regulations placed on you until you can prove you are in complete control of your titan powers, but I will make sure that you remain under my command. I will not let them imprison you or take you away from the Survey Corps. You have my word, Levi."

Levi listlessly swirled his cup of tea, watching the creamy liquid circle the edges of the cup like a whirlpool. He wanted to believe Erwin. He trusted the other man with his life. He had ever since Erwin convinced him to fight for the Survey Corp with the threat of imprisonment no longer a contingent of his enlistment. But could Erwin really protect him from those high in military command if they decided to tear him away from his squad and take him to the interior?

"How long did Central Command give until I have to be presented to them?"

"Two weeks."

Levi scowled and took a swallow of his rapidly cooling tea if only to give himself something to do beside worry about what would happen to him. After he joined the Survey Corps he thought his life was done taking strange turns. He thought he'd finally found his place in the world. He had found purpose in venturing beyond the wall and doing what he could to reclaim the outside world for humanity one slain titan at a time. But instead he'd been captured and turned into the very thing he'd dedicated his life to exterminating.

"Levi… are you alright?" Erwin gently asked. His eyes had lost their hardness and stared at Levi with the honest concern of a close friend.

"What do you think, Erwin?" Levi flatly replied. He stared at the ripples of sheets draped over his legs. "I just woke up after being held prisoner and experimented on for eight months to be told that I can turn into a titan. I thought it was bad enough when we found out that brat Jeager could turn into a titan, but now you're saying I can as well. That's not something that's easy for a person to immediately process."

"Maybe you should talk to Eren," Erwin suggested. "I'm sure you two would have a lot of things to talk about."

The icy glare Levi leveled at Erwin would have killed him if such a thing were physically possible. Erwin's response was a teasing smirk.

"I do want you and Eren working together more in the future. Once we finish assuaging the military elites that you are no threat to humanity I want you and Eren to have a discussion. You both possess titan powers and that could be extremely beneficial to our ultimate missions to retake Wall Maria. From what I saw of you in your titan form you were very much in control of what you were doing. There wasn't a moment that made me believe you were running wild. Learning such control would be beneficial to Jeager."

The corner of Levi's lip curled with distain. "That damn brat. From what I saw in that town he hasn't learned to control his power at all. He almost squished everyone in that square because he wasn't paying attention to things around him. What have you and Hange been doing with him while I've been gone? Sitting around with your thumbs up your asses?"

Erwin's smirk was annoying. "My point exactly. I'm sure you will make an excellent role model and teacher for him both in titan form and out."

Levi fought back the urge to send Erwin another glare. A question still weighed heavily on his mind. "Mike and Hange had a point before. Why would someone kidnap me and give me titan powers, then return me somewhere for you to find? It doesn't make sense."

Erwin's face melted into deathly seriousness again. "That's a very good question. And one I and the rest of the Corp intends to find out. Given the circumstances of your return, it seems likely that whoever took you will eventually try to come back from you, especially now that you've displayed your titan powers. Everyone in the Survey Corps is under orders to keep an eye on you. I will not let you or any of my other soldiers be taken again."

"I'm not a child. I don't need protection like some snot-nosed novice straight out of the Training Corp."

"Just like you didn't need protection when your kidnappers took you in the forest of Giant Trees?" Erwin lightly asked. "If they grabbed you once it is not impossible for them to do so again."

Levi's death glare became frigid.

"You know I'm right, Levi," Erwin said. "Whoever took you must have connections and resources to kidnap you in the middle of titan territory and then strategically leave you for us to find. Luckily, we have the advantage this time around to know to keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior."

Levi met Erwin's gaze. "Once I'm no longer forced to piss through a tube into a bag I'm going to hunt down the bastards that did this to me and kill them," he darkly promised.

Erwin's facial expression betrayed no reaction to Levi's threat. Perhaps it was because he himself had once been the focus of the captain's death threats and had somehow managed to survive. The look lurking just behind his eyes, however, said that he intended to help Levi exact his revenge.

"Until such time as you're able to do so, you are to rest and recover," he ordered, standing from his chair. "The Survey Corps needs Humanity's Strongest Soldier back." Erwin straightened his jacket and stood staring down at Levi. His eyes softened before he reached out and gripped Levi by the shoulder. "I'm very glad you're back." The Commander's voice had taken on a suddenly tight quality, as if he were fighting not to betray too many emotions. "The Corps suffered badly in the wake of your supposed death."

He brusquely clapped his hand against Levi's shoulder as a way of parting and turned towards the door. "I will have Hange check on you in a few hours," he called over his shoulder. "I'm sure she has a million questions for you. I think she's been starting to get bored studying Eren and his titan form."

"I just spent the last eight months being experimented on and now you're going to subject me to even more. You're a cruel and sadistic man, Erwin. That woman's never going to leave me alone now."

Levi though he heard Erwin snicker but couldn't tell for sure as Erwin softly closed the door behind him. The silence left in Erwin's wake was deafening. A strange sense of loneliness crept over Levi as he stared into the contents of his tea cup. He'd always been a loner who appreciated quiet and his personal space. But for the first time in his life Levi felt truly _alone._ More out of lack of anything else to do than any actual interest in it, Levi took a sip of Hange's tea. He grimaced at the taste. It had become cold and bitter.

 _To Be Continued_


End file.
